Parks and Recreation

Initially rumored to be a spin-off of The Office, Parks and Recreation is thematically, if not directly, tied to its mockumentary predecessor, but the former show has more quirkiness and bite than this relatively mild-mannered sitcom. Created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, key members of The Office's creative team, the series tracks the bureaucracy-laden day-to-day life of Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), the defiantly sunny deputy director of the parks department in Pawnee, a small Indiana city. Among the characters in Leslie's loopy orbit are her formidably mustachioed boss, Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman), and her close friend Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones, formerly of, yes, The Office). Comedian Aziz Ansari is also on hand to play Tom Haverford, a thinly veiled version of his slacker persona, and Aubrey Plaza mopes around stealing scenes as the dour assistant April Ludgate. While the show can be quite amusing, it isn't as convincing when making attempts at edgy humor; instead, it works best when staying in an affable comfort zone befitting its Midwestern setting. Parks and Recreation is easily more enjoyable than most network TV comedies, but it needs an enigmatic extra spark to join the lauded ranks of show such as Modern Family, 30 Rock, and, you know, that other series.